Letter

Call all candidates for School Board

Someone say the task of being a School Board member is awesome. Some say it’s a challenge. Some say, ‘Don’t waste my time.’ They are probably right, but I am going to try anyway. I think it’s important. I think a $45 million dollar budget deserves the best people we can find to manage our schools.

We need people who care.

We just hired one of the highest paid superintendents in the state. We have a great staff. (Too big, but good). Unlike most school districts, our enrollment is in crisis. It’s dropping so fast we will soon be smaller than when we started 40 years ago. Our gross cost per student is almost $20,000 — again one of the highest in the state. And our biggest challenge is our student/teacher ratio that is costing us a fortune. It’s killing us.

We’ve spent a fortune on new programs (must be close to a million dollars). A good education doesn’t come cheap these days. And the list goes on.

We have classroom coaches, tutors, loads of specialists, and then there is the robotics challenge.

The real kicker is that taxpayers are leaving the district in droves. Towns are running a tight ship. School taxes are the problem for many families. As a former School Board member myself, I can say we desperately need a board with guts, vision and nerve to change the way we spend taxpayer dollars.

The problem and solution are obvious. Increase the enrollment by 1,000 students, match costs with enrollment. We need you. Our students need you. Sign up before it’s too late to serve and make a difference.